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A Forrester Consulting

Thought Leadership Paper


Commissioned By GE Digital

February 2018

Using IIoT Platforms To


Simplify Smart Device
Deployment And Transform
Operations
Table Of Contents
1 Executive Summary
2 Internet of Things (IoT) Is
Transforming The Way Industrial
Firms Operate
2 Managing IoT Initiatives Requires
The Convergence Of IT And OT
3 Industry Specific Software
Platforms Will Support The Future
Of Industrial IoT
6 Companies Place High Importance
On IIoT Platform Capabilities
9 Leveraging Partners Helps Firms
Successfully Deploy IIoT Platforms
10 Key Recommendations
12 Appendix

ABOUT FORRESTER CONSULTING


Project Director: Forrester Consulting provides independent and objective research-based consulting
Chris Taylor, to help leaders succeed in their organizations. Ranging in scope from a short
Senior Market Impact Consultant strategy session to custom projects, Forrester’s Consulting services connect you
directly with research analysts who apply expert insight to your specific business
Contributing Research:
challenges. For more information, visit forrester.com/consulting.
Forrester’s Infrastructure and
Operations research group © 2018, Forrester Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction is
strictly prohibited. Information is based on best available resources. Opinions reflect
judgment at the time and are subject to change. Forrester®, Technographics®,
Forrester Wave, RoleView, TechRadar, and Total Economic Impact are trademarks
of Forrester Research, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective
companies. For additional information, go to forrester.com. [1-1137WPH]
Executive Summary
Internet of Things (IoT) solutions and smart, connected products are
revolutionizing the way industrial firms operate by enabling differentiated
products, more efficient operations, and new opportunities to engage
with customers. However, developing, implementing, and capturing
insight from IoT-enabled devices is challenging for many firms. To make
the most of IoT, industrial firms need industrial IoT (IIoT) platforms that
go beyond traditional, business IoT platforms and focus on industrial
use cases. These IIoT platforms provide enterprises with a range of
features, services, and analytics offerings to help industrial enterprises
gain insights into their connected assets and products.
In September 2017, GE commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct
a study to evaluate industrial firms interest in IIoT platforms, the
challenges with adoption and deployment, and the benefits achieved
from these platforms. To reach these objectives, we surveyed 115
industrial firms — 60 companies currently using IIoT platforms and 55
that are not using them — to better understand these topics.

KEY FINDINGS
›› Proactive collaboration between IT and operational technology
(OT) teams is critical to seamless IIoT platform deployment.
To ensure seamless IoT-enabled device deployment, it is critical
for both the IT and the OT stakeholders to collaborate. Operations
stakeholders including factory and plant operations executives,
facilities managers, and operations personnel often focus on lower
costs and improving asset utilization. In contrast, IT executives focus
on ensuring the technology solutions and architecture is secure,
scalable, and aligned with existing corporate infrastructure. Often
there is a disconnect between these stakeholders because only 37%
of firms manage IT and OT processes collaboratively.
›› IIoT platforms are integral to the future of industrial operations.
Ninety-eight percent of companies surveyed are planning to
implement an IIoT platform. IIoT platforms include a range of
industrial use cases ranging from a single service use such as asset
performance management (APM) via a SaaS model; or they can
implement a more comprehensive array of apps and services through
the IIoT platform to enhance business operations and enable efficient
DevOps process.
›› Industrial companies often lack the needed data skills to fully
take advantage of IIoT capabilities. Nearly 50% of companies
don’t feel they are properly equipped to handle the various device,
development, and data requirements associated with deploying IIoT
platforms. In particular, 62% of companies don’t feel they have the
proper data science expertise to work with IIoT data.
›› Companies want third-party IIoT platform vendors to provide the
skills and resources needed to manage IIoT effectively. Eighty-
five percent of companies chose to implement an IIoT platform
from a third-party vendor (rather than building in-house). This
approach enables enterprises to take advantage of the skills, ease of
management, and scalability that these partners can offer.

1 | Using Ilot Platforms To Simplify Smart Device Deployment And Transform Operations
Internet of Things (IoT) Is Transforming
The Way Industrial Firms Operate
Business executives, product manufacturers, and technology
stakeholders are using IoT to accelerate innovation and drive digital
transformation. Leveraging IoT enables firms to ingest information and
context through physical sensors on devices and then take actions
based on that information. Digital capabilities are critical in today’s This study was part of a larger
customer-centric world. Business leaders within industrial companies research effort examining the
(manufacturing, oil and gas, chemical, and energy and power) are roles and challenges for both IT
increasingly using IoT to bridge the physical and digital worlds. Firms and OT professionals in
in these industries are increasingly embracing IoT to transform supply managing industrial IoT. This
chain processes, enhance inventory management, and track and paper focuses specifically on the
monitor asset and product performance. Manufacturers are also creating IT audience. A companion paper
IoT-enabled devices to differentiate their offerings and generate new focused on APM and OT is in
1
revenue streams. process and will be published in
Q2 of 2018.
Successful implementation of IoT often requires software platforms
to simplify the process of deploying, connecting, and controlling IoT-
enabled devices, as well as capturing data and insights from those
devices. Industrial companies can benefit because they can shift
from selling a piece of machinery to building lasting, service-based
relationships with their customers. Understanding the status, location,
and use of IoT-enabled devices, the manner in which individual parts
wear, and the role these machines have on business operations, creates
new value propositions beyond the revenues from selling a piece of
2
machinery or a maintenance contract.

Managing IoT Initiatives Requires The


Convergence Of IT And OT
Managing new IoT initiatives at industrial firms requires enterprise Figure 1
stakeholders to think differently about how they operate and manage Top benefits of tighter OT/IT
their facilities, equipment, and machines. Operational technology teams integration:
(OT) including line-of-business stakeholders, factory operations execs,
product managers, and operations personnel, commonly drive IoT Reduced
requirements. However, critical issues related to network architecture, workloads.
technology infrastructure, security, and scalability require IT teams
to play a key role in implementing new solutions to manage IoT. The
More effective
importance of IT and OT team collaboration is supported by our survey use of data.
results, showing that over 70% of industrial companies recognize the
importance of IT/OT convergence in deploying future IoT initiatives. Reduced complexity
of systems and
Proactive collaboration between IT and OT teams is also critical processes.
to enabling seamless IoT application deployment, such as asset
performance management (APM) and monitoring. However, only 37%
of firms currently enable IT and OT collaboration. Tighter integration Base: 215 industrial IoT users and
between the two teams: reduces support team workload; enables decision makers
Source: A commissioned study conducted
effective use of device data to drive business improvements; and by Forrester Consulting on behalf of GE,
reduces the complexity of systems and processes (see Figure 1). Over September 2017
50% of companies agreed that an integrated platform/toolset (i.e., an
IoT platform) was critical to facilitating this IT and OT collaboration.

2 | Using Ilot Platforms To Simplify Smart Device Deployment And Transform Operations
Industry Specific Software Platforms Will
Support The Future Of Industrial IoT
The growing volume of IoT-enabled devices is driving additional CIOs and CTOs
demand for IoT software platforms among industrial companies.
Forrester defines IoT platforms as, “software solutions that help simplify
are skeptical that
the process of developing, connecting, controlling, and capturing consumer- or
3
insights from IoT-enabled products and assets.” However, a recent enterprise-grade
Forrester report noted that, “CIOs and CTOs at industrial firms are
skeptical that consumer- or enterprise-grade technology will meet all of technology will meet
their needs to work with large, complex industrial assets, infrastructure,
4
all of their needs
products, and the resulting data.” To make the most of IoT, industrial
firms need industrial IoT (IIoT) platforms that go beyond traditional to work with large,
platforms to help them do the following: complex industrial
›› Manage OEM-specific physical assets. Some original equipment assets, infrastructure,
manufacturers (OEMs) of industrial products, such as jet engines
and locomotives, may already integrate and manage digital sensors
products, and the
and automation via an IIoT platform. CTOs must decide, for each resulting data.
OEM vendor they buy such assets from, how to integrate with IIoT
platforms to take advantage of additional application features for
5
analytics and operations.
›› Provide industry-specific support, service, and security. Many
industries, such as utilities, aviation, railroads, trucking, healthcare
imaging, and government, have unusual and highly specific
governance and compliance requirements. IIoT platforms can
account for these specific industry and national requirements at the
infrastructure, platform, and application level — much more than a
traditional IoT platform could.
›› Generate predictive insights from industrial analytics and data.
IIoT platforms automate responses to events and provide actionable
insights using predictive analytics, streaming analytics, and artificial
intelligence (AI) technologies. IIoT platforms can transform IoT-
enabled device data using applications such as vibration analysis,
anomaly detection, ultrasonic pattern recognition, and condition-
based preventive maintenance. These data services and applications
are specifically designed to meet industrial requirements rather than
the general-purpose application and infrastructure capabilities of
6
generic IoT platforms.
›› Enable capabilities for edge computing. Many IoT applications
require a distributed architecture, with some software, data, and
analytics operating at the edge, on IoT-enabled devices or gateways,
to meet performance, reliability, and cost requirements. Platforms
need to enable highly distributed applications with specialized IoT
capabilities that give designers flexibility to put data and logic where
7
it’s needed.
To better understand how industrial firms are using, or planning to use
industrial IoT platforms, we surveyed 60 companies currently using an
IIoT platform and 55 companies that are not using one. Interestingly,
among those not currently using an IIoT platform, 98% were interested
in adopting them in the future, further supporting the importance of
IIoT platforms.

3 | Using Ilot Platforms To Simplify Smart Device Deployment And Transform Operations
MANAGING IIOT ENVIRONMENTS IS CHALLENGING FOR THOSE
NOT USING PLATFORMS
Interest in IIoT platforms is high as industrial firms struggle with
using legacy tools and processes to support their new connected
infrastructure, and to capture insight from these connected assets and
products. We asked respondents how effective their current methods of Figure 2
monitoring and supporting their IIoT infrastructure were, and nearly 40% Effectiveness of current methods
did not consider their methods to be effective — only 16% considered for monitoring and supporting your
their methods to be very effective (see Figure 2). IIoT infrastructure: (Companies w/o
Demand for more effective solutions, such as IIoT platforms, is platforms)
commonly driven by the following desired outcomes:
›› Better insights and analytics into connected assets. The key 16% Very effective
value of using IoT-enabled devices comes from the data that can be
captured about the location, operational status, and health of that
45% Somewhat effective
product. Firms can leverage this data to drive business insights and
business improvements, which is a major advantage to embracing
IIoT platforms. In fact, 55% of companies see this as a primary 39% Not effective
outcome of implementing IIoT platforms. If companies lack tools
to analyze captured device data and insights, a critical benefit of Base: 115 industrial IoT users and
deploying IoT-enabled devices is lost. decision makers
Source: A commissioned study conducted
›› Competitive differentiation through modernization. IoT-enabled by Forrester Consulting on behalf of GE,
devices are often an important component to enterprise digital September 2017
transformation initiatives. Product manufacturers and business
leaders in proactive firms are making and operating IoT-enabled
devices to bridge the gap between physical and digital worlds.
Those companies who can better enable their business through
digital technologies can position themselves from their competition
and efficiently and effectively operate in an increasingly technology-
enabled marketplace.
›› Reduced costs. Managing the expanding number and variety of
IoT-enabled devices is challenging and requires both personnel and
resource investments. Firms can use IIoT platforms to help curb
costs by using tools to reduce the manpower needed to manage the
breadth and variety of smart-connected assets. Trying to manage a
network of thousands of IoT-enabled devices without a centralized
tool can be difficult and is more susceptible to support and
maintenance errors.

4
BARRIERS TO ADOPTING IIOT PLATFORMS
Firms that are considering IIoT platform deployment must first address key
barriers that prevent them from implementing one. Key barriers include:
›› Lack of budget and proven ROI. Many stakeholders do not fully
understand the comprehensive benefits of IIoT platforms. For example,
Many stakeholders do
when comparing anticipated versus realized outcomes of IIoT platforms, not fully understand
the percent of companies anticipating specific outcomes was much
lower than the percentage of companies who realized those benefits
the comprehensive
from IIoT platform deployment (see Figure 3). More simply stated, benefits of IIoT
companies without IIoT platforms don’t realize the full value that platforms
platforms can offer, which can make it harder to build a business case
and secure budget.
›› Extended implementation time. As with any new technology change,
there are concerns over process disruption and rollout time. Firms know
the key outcomes they want from IIoT platforms, but the process of
implementing an IIoT platform across multiple locations and facilities can
be daunting and time consuming for firms.
›› Lack of proper skills. Without a trained team ready to deploy and
manage an IIoT platform, it’s easy to see how some firms would be
hesitant to move forward with deployment. However, many of the
benefits of IIoT platform implementation (e.g., better insights and
analytics, simplification of complex environments, accessibility to
a partner ecosystem and related skillsets) can help firms address
the common skill set gaps associated with managing IoT-enabled
devices (e.g., complex environment, high volume of devices, new data
management requirements).

Figure 3
Companies without IIoT platforms don’t recognize their full benefits.

Anticipated benefits Realized benefits

55%
Better insights and analytics around connected assets
55%

42%
Reduce personnel/resource costs
48%

27%
Greater confidence in IIoT security
42%

40%
Simplification of complex connected environments
40%
Accessibility to a partner ecosystem to drive new 29%
business capabilities 38%

20%
Not having to invest in infrastructure/maintenance costs
22%

Base: 115 industrial IoT users and decision makers


Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of GE, September 2017

5 | Using Ilot Platforms To Simplify Smart Device Deployment And Transform Operations
Companies Place High Importance On
IIoT Platform Capabilities
Industrial firms see value in platforms because of the comprehensive
capabilities they provide. Specifically, companies consider the following
IIoT platforms capabilities to be of high importance:
›› Data management and analytics tools. The increased number The increased number
of IoT-enabled devices will drive exponential growth and volumes of IoT-enabled devices
of data. Data analytics teams need to analyze the data, drawing
relevant insight to improve outcomes. Data management and will drive exponential
analytics tools from IIoT platforms help address questions including growth and volumes
which data to store, how to categorize the data, and how long
to keep it. In addition, machine learning and artificial intelligence
of data
solutions help to generate insight from the captured data.
›› Completeness from edge to cloud. Industrial firms using IoT-
enabled devices can collect data from thousands, or millions of
devices; with this comes managing and updating those devices,
storing terabytes of data, and running analytics on streaming real-
time data to derive insights and develop new applications. Cloud-
enabled IIoT platforms provide a low cost, on-demand environment
to address these IIoT deployment challenges. However, in some use
cases, application latency requirements, data generated at the edge,
back-end and front-end infrastructure architecture, and the mix of
internally and externally generated data determine whether a firm
can use an edge solution. Many firms will take a hybrid approach to
support their array of IIoT use cases.

Diagram A
Connected Enterprise
IoT software
devices and systems and
platform
infrastructure applications

• Connect
• Secure
• Manage
• Analyze
• Build

117802 Source: Forrester Research, Inc. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution prohibited.

6
›› Security tools. Recent security incidents demonstrate the critical role
of addressing IIoT security. Device authentication reduces security
exposure by establishing the identity of the IoT-enabled device and
verifying its state. An IIoT platform then deploys certificates that identify
devices as authentic, identifies the server URL to connect to, and enrolls
Figure 4
itself; it will authenticate only devices with the appropriate credentials.
Rollout of IIoT platforms is limited:
›› Application development toolset. One of the key advantages of an
IIoT platform is the ability to custom-develop specific apps based on
individual business requirements. Platform development tools and APIs 25% Full rollout
enable companies to move from just collecting IoT data to building
more robust capabilities such as generating predictive insights (e.g.,
52% Partial rollout
pre-built analytics, data science expertise, machine learning) to prevent
unplanned downtime of industrial assets and related processes.
17% Single-location rollout
MANY COMPANIES STRUGGLE TO EFFECTIVELY LEVERAGE IIOT
PLATFORM CAPABILITIES Base: 93 IT industrial IoT users and
decision makers at companies who have
Despite the importance of the various capabilities listed above, an implemented or are in the process of
average of 43% of firms do not consider their current platforms to implementing an IIoT platform
be effective at providing needed capabilities. This can be a major Source: A commissioned study conducted
challenge as companies are investing in these tools with these specific by Forrester Consulting on behalf of GE,
September 2017
capabilities in mind. The limited effectiveness of many firm’s current
platforms can be attributed to four core challenges:
›› Limited implementation/rollout of platforms. Only 25% of firms
currently using or in the process of implementing IIoT platforms
have a full rollout. The fact that most enterprises have only limited
deployment of their IIoT platforms contributes to the limited
effectiveness of platform capabilities. Survey results show that 71%
of firms have rolled out their IIoT platforms to a partial set of facilities
or to a single facility (see Figure 4).
›› Lack of proper application development and data science skills.
IoT-enabled devices create a deluge of structured and unstructured
machine data as well as audio and video images. However, nearly
60% of respondents do not believe their company has the proper
expertise to address their data science and analysis needs on the
back end. Even if companies were able to run the proper analysis
on their data, 50% don’t have the proper expertise to engage in
application-level development through IIoT platforms to effectively
apply those insights (see Figure 5).

7
›› Security and compliance concerns. The data and insight captured
from IoT-enabled devices often generates concern with data security,
ownership governance, and data sharing. Key data ownership and
governance questions to address include: Who has access to the
device data? Who is the owner of this captured data? Which data
needs to be stored? And, how long does data need to be stored?
›› Application development and management challenges. Many
stakeholders initially focus on using IIoT platforms to connect the
fragmented array of IoT-enabled devices to: wireline; wireless (e.g.,
3G and 4G); satellite; and industry-specific (e.g., CanBus and Mbus)
networks. However, IoT platforms often include a broad array of
features such as data ingestion, app development, user interface
design, data management, app integration, security, and analytics
functions. Each of these APIs and interfaces must be updated and
maintained in an ongoing manner which is costly and time consuming
and highlights the important value to using DevOps tools and
processes included in IIoT platforms.
IIoT platforms give industrial companies the ability to manage their
complex, smart, and connected environments. However, if the features
and functions of these platforms are not fully deployed or leveraged,
firms will not achieve the comprehensive benefits of IIoT platform
deployment. It is important for enterprises to identify a clear road map
and strategy for deploying IIoT platform features and services.

Figure 5
Does your company have the proper expertise available for the following
IIoT-platforms related tasks?

Data science/ Application-level Device and data


IloT platform capability data analysis development management

% of companies who feel


they have the right 41% 50% 52%
expertise to manage

• Lack of data scientists. • Debate over the value • Ongoing security


• Lack of clear of build versus buy. concerns.
ROI/proven business • Lack of flexibility to • Data compliance and
Related challenges:
value. implement changes. governance.
• Lack of actionable • Frequency of updates. • Difficulty and risk of
insights from data. migration or installation.

Base: 115 industrial IoT users and decision makers


Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of GE, September 2017

8 | Using Ilot Platforms To Simplify Smart Device Deployment And Transform Operations
Leveraging Partners Helps Firms
Successfully Deploy IIoT Platforms
Given the challenges industrial firms face with managing IIoT platforms,
companies recognize the need for greater investment in IIoT platforms —
71% of companies expect budget for IIoT platforms to increase in the next
one to two years. Many firms will likely put that added budget to increasing 71% of companies
their engagement with their IIoT platform providers to help fill some of their
expertise gaps. expect budget for IIoT
Because most firms don’t have the expertise or training needed to platforms to increase
effectively manage all the capabilities of an IIoT platform, nearly 85% of in the next one to two
companies surveyed chose to implement an IIoT platform from a third party
vendor (rather than building in-house). Firms opt to utilize third-party IIoT
years
platforms for these primary reasons (see Figure 6):
›› Access to more advanced technologies/tools. By using third parties,
who have invested years of industry expertise and experience into
building their platforms, companies get access to more robust feature
sets and support teams that would be difficult to replicate with their own
home-grown solution.
›› Easier to implement and manage. As the breadth and variety of
connected-devices expands in your company, it’s critical to understand
how these devices will integrate into your corporate device management
strategy. Device management features include the ability to activate,
provision, and enroll a device into the system.
›› Higher reliability/availability/scalability. IIoT platforms must address
reliability and scalability on many levels. Many IIoT software platforms
are available in cloud environments so they can support hundreds of
thousands of connected devices and can handle spikes in adoption. The
reach of an IIoT software platform vendor in specific geographic regions
or countries is also important.

Figure 6
Advantages to using third-party IIoT platforms:

55% Access to more advanced capabilities/technologies than we have in-house

47% Easier to implement and manage

45% Higher reliability/availability/scalability

43% Lower opex and/or capex

43% We needed outside expertise to help navigate our complex infrastructure environment

37% Ability to interface with multiple device networks/types

35% We don't have the right data/analytics skill sets

Base: 51 IT industrial IoT users and decision makers at companies using a third-party IIoT platform
Source: A commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of GE, September 2017

9 | Using Ilot Platforms To Simplify Smart Device Deployment And Transform Operations
Key Recommendations
IIoT platforms help industrial firms simplify the process of connecting,
managing, deploying, and capturing insights from IoT-enabled devices.
These IIoT platforms offer industrial firms technology solutions to
manage large, complex industrial assets, infrastructure, products, and
the resulting data which can help transform operational processes. In
order to make the most of your IIoT platform deployment, Forrester
recommends doing the following:
Start by ensuring IT and operations teams collaborate to identify
IIoT platform requirements. Factory and plant executives, building
and facilities managers, and operations personnel should all focus on
using IIoT initiatives to lower costs and improve asset utilization. CIOs
and CTOs must design secure IIoT architecture and security policies
to support millions of IoT-enabled devices that may have exploitable
vulnerabilities. Data analytics teams need to analyze the data, drawing
relevant insight and improving outcomes. For example, manufacturers
use predictive analytics to automate data analysis from IoT-enabled
devices and determine when devices should shut off to prevent an
issue or improve utilization. Based on the requirements of these various
stakeholders, you can identify and prioritize the key IIoT use cases for
your organization. Many firms often begin their IIoT journey with the
asset performance monitoring capabilities to enhance their ability to
monitor and enhance efficiency of connected assets and products.
Make the digital twin a key element of your IIoT platform strategy.
As IIoT projects proliferate, application development and delivery
(AD&D) teams are successfully applying best practices from mobile
app development. These include adoption of IIoT platform services
with capabilities to accelerate product delivery. A key component of
them is a design pattern called the “digital twin” — a doppelgänger of
an IoT-enabled device. These devices need a digital representation to
participate in contextual computing. Device management, analytics,
maintenance, and utilization data all revolve around the anchor of the
digital twin. Digital twins enable simulation of IoT-enabled devices, so
developers can more easily prototype infrastructure even when actual
devices aren’t yet available.
Avoid using a do-it-yourself approach to IIoT platform
development. Some industrial firms try to develop in-house IIoT
platforms, however this approach is complex, costly, and can lead
to delayed deployments. IIoT platforms simplify smart solution
deployment by providing services including: pre-integration with
specific edge devices, interfaces with applications, data integration
functions, device management support, industry-specific and IoT
protocol access, and analytics solutions. A DIY platform approach
can quickly eat into budgets as you are also signing up for long-term
support and maintenance of platforms as standards, protocols, and
new products evolve.

10 | Using Ilot Platforms To Simplify Smart Device Deployment And


Transform Operations
Plan for long term use case and scalability requirements. IIoT
platforms must address scalability on many levels. These software
platforms are often available in a public cloud environment, so they
can scale to support hundreds of thousands of connected devices.
However, some IoT-enabled devices require critical infrastructure
control or are in locations where sensitive data is collected. In these
situations, product data, state, analytics, and computing are better
distributed to the edge of the network. You must ensure your IIoT
architecture can support both edge and cloud IIoT use cases and
can handle the massive amounts of data captured as more devices,
virtual machines, and connected assets are activated. It is also
important to ensure your selected IIoT platform vendor is available
in the geographic regions or countries where you deploy your IoT-
enabled devices.
Leverage product data and insights across the organization.
The true value of connecting IoT-enabled devices is achieved when
captured data and information are transformed into actionable
insights. Data captured from those devices provides new
opportunities to create value for various roles in the organization.
Many enterprises do not have the skill sets in-house to bring together
the structured and unstructured data from various sources and need
assistance from third-party partners to fill in these data skills gaps.

11 | Using Ilot Platforms To Simplify Smart Device Deployment And


Transform Operations
Appendix A: Demographics
In this study, Forrester conducted an online survey of 215 professionals who were responsible for IoT
initiatives within industrial firms in the following industries: manufacturing; chemicals and metals; oil and gas;
and energy and power. The majority of this report focuses on a subsegment of 115 of those professionals who
were in more IT specific roles. Survey participants included decision makers in manager roles or higher and
were from companies ranging in company size from 500 to over 20,000. The survey was global and included
participants from the US, Canada, UK, Germany, India, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, and Australia.
Respondents were offered a small incentive as a thank you for time spent on the survey. The study was
completed in September 2017.

Appendix B: Endnotes
1
Source: “I&O Leaders Must Deliver Foundational Technology And Processes For IoT Success,” Forrester
Research, Inc., November 2, 2017.
2
Source: “The Industrial Internet May Not Need Its Own Cloud,” Forrester Research, Inc., January 8, 2016.
3
Source: “Ten Best Practices From Early Adopters For IoT Software Platform Deployment,” Forrester
Research, Inc., May 9, 2017.
4
Source: “Industrial IoT Platforms Offer Better Support For Specific Industry Needs,” Forrester Research, Inc.,
June 23, 2017.
5
Ibid.
6
Ibid.
7
Ibid.

12 | Using Ilot Platforms To Simplify Smart Device Deployment And Transform Operations

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